


Heartstrings

by Vesper_Vigil



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety Disorder, Deaf Character, First Love, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Innocence, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Original Character(s), Piano, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:54:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27625028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesper_Vigil/pseuds/Vesper_Vigil
Summary: For someone who lives in a world of music, aspiring college pianist Haiji Mitsuki lives a surprisingly monochromatic life.  To him, everything is black and white.  There's nothing he can do about it, but then again, there's nothing he really wants to do about it either.  But, what happens when he meets the living embodying of color?  Graham Weston may have been born deaf, but that has never stopped him from taking the world on and living life to its absolutely fullest potential.  What will happen when black and white meet vibrant and vivid color?  Join these two loveable idiots for some good old fashioned good times, maybe some age-old angst, and a whole bunch of fluff with maybe everything in between...(This summery is in no way adequate to the actual story.  I'm begging, please give it a try!)
Kudos: 1





	Heartstrings

For Haiji Mitsuki, life had always been black and white. Black and white sheet music, black and white concert attire, black and white piano keys. It seemed as if his entire life was monochromatic, but there was nothing he could do about it and nothing he ever did to stop it. He had been stuck in this cycle since the time he had touched his first piano, and he was going to continue this cycle until the day he dropped dead, whenever that may be. 

For the past 20 years of his life, Haiji had been surrounded by music. Of course there had been a time where said music had been colorful and vibrant- something that Haiji had thoroughly enjoyed and that had brought joy to his life. But as time had gone on and the pressure to perform had grown, the colors had fallen away until the only thing left were the black notes on the white paper. Haiji had even left his home in Tokyo to continue his studies in the States, but even the new culture and environment hadn’t brought any passion back to his life. If anything, it made him even more isolated. 

So here he was, alone and on his own at university, studying piano and going through life day by day. Thursday’s and Saturday’s were always concert days, but the rest of the week was just filled with long hours at the music hall, locked in a small room practicing piece after piece until another student kicked Haiji out and he was allowed to return back to his apartment. Sure, Haiji knew people in his program, most of the kids being there on the same music scholarship or another, but as a soloist, he typically did not interact with the other students there. Not that he thought of them as competition or anything, he simply just did not understand getting to know someone who he wouldn’t really get to see outside of the concert halls. Come to think of it, he’d never seen any of his fellow pianists outside of their concert attire, never having run into them anywhere except inside the music halls. After concerts or competitions, the musicians typically all went to the same Korean barbecue place for a post-performing celebratory dinner, but Haiji had never joined them even at their incessant asking, and this Thursday night was no different.

“You sure you don’t want to come along tonight? You haven’t LIVED until you’ve tried it!”

Haiji looked up from where he was sliding the last of his sheet music into his concert folder. The people who had attended the performance were already starting to trickle out of the auditorium, leaving the six or so musicians to congregate around the grand piano that dominated the center stage. As the last pianist of the evening, Haiji was still seated at the piano bench packing up his things. He tucked his folder under his arm, pulling his glasses out of the side pocket of his suit jacket as he stood up to face the man who had just spoken to him.

Arther was a nice enough man, always inclusive and respectful of those around him. But it was instances like these when all Haiji wanted was to go home where he wished that the man would just not care about him and his well being. The pianist expertly flipped his glasses onto his nose with one hand, turning to address Arthur.

“I’m actually really tired tonight. I have an exam tomorrow anyway, so I really should get going so I can get at least a little studying in tonight.”

It was the same or similar excuse he gave every time, but everyone knew it was code for no. Haiji didn’t want to go out, and nothing anybody could do would change his mind. However, it didn’t stop Arthur from asking every single time.

Arthur’s shoulders deflated a little and he ran his fingers through his curly hair, disrupting the gel he had put there to keep the curls under control for the duration of the concert. 

“Ok, man. No worries. Be safe on the way home and get some good sleep! Alright, guys. Let’s go!”

With that, Arthur turned as he spoke to the rest of the musicians and they all whooped and cheered as they began to move out of the music hall for their long awaited celebratory meal. Haiji just stood by the piano bench as they left, watching as the students joked and shoved each other around. Nerves were always high during a performance, so everyone just let loose afterwards and enjoyed themselves. When the last music major had left and the double doors had swung shut, Haiji sighed in relief and went about his way of slipping off his dress shoes in favor of an old pair of sneakers he had waiting off stage. He lived a good walk from the music hall, and there was no way in hell he’d hike it there in dress shoes. Some people thought that musicians hated themselves for what they willingly put themselves through, but Haiji didn’t hate himself THAT much.

It was early October, and the brisk autumn air was starting to turn a little more towards chilly as the year was coming to a close. Maryland weather was somewhat mild, but it was something that Haiji had yet to get used to. He hurriedly wrapped a scarf around his neck and slid on his trusty pair of gloves. As a pianist, his whole career was centered around his hands. One small accident could mean him losing his scholarship and then where would he be? Thus, Haiji took good care of his hands and was careful to protect them from things like the cold and anything that might inhibit his ability to play.

He retrieved his backpack from backstage and began the process of making sure he had everything before he left the hall. Haiji hadn’t lied to Arthur earlier, he really did have an exam tomorrow. His stat notes and calculator were at the bottom of his bag to prove it, but he slid his music folder right next to them and zipped the bag back up. Math could wait a little bit. Right now, the man was starving and knew he wouldn’t study back at his apartment if he didn’t grab something to eat before he got home. There were plenty of restaurants and food places between here and Haiji’s on-campus apartment, but he knew exactly what he wanted and needed.

Less than ten minutes later, the man was standing in line waiting for his turn to order. Haiji was a man of simple tastes, and the local sandwich shop always hit the spot. He was almost certain they put something special in their mayonnaise, but he was always too hungry to ponder it for longer than what it took to eat the damn thing. When one’s diet mainly consisted of instant noodles and microwavable rice, one tended to appreciate the little things in life. Like mayonnaise…

Haiji ordered his sandwich and stood towards the back of the shop, taking time to put in a pair of earbuds. It was the unspoken rule of campus that no one spoke to anyone wearing earbuds, and Haiji took advantage of this as he stood waiting for his order. Several other students came in and ordered as well, some chatting to each other as they waited. However, ever the anti-socialist, Haiji took little notice of those around him and instead tried to focus on the orchestral piece he was listening to. Eventually, his sandwich was placed on the counter and Haiji moved towards the front of the line to collect his meal and book it home. At the counter, there appeared to be a student aggressively gesturing to the shop employee, and Haiji politely stood to the side to let the order be completed before he collected his food. However, as a minute passed, Haiji realized that the student was not actually speaking to the employee. His mouth wasn’t moving.

The pianist removed his earbuds, just to check, but the man at the counter wasn’t speaking. He was just connecting several hand movements, one after the other. And even stranger, the man behind the counter was just nodding and taking the order like he understood! The exchange apparently ended when the brunette brought his hand down from his mouth to meet the other hand at his waist, and the employee did the same. The odd man turned and almost ran into Haiji as he left. He brought his hands up in surprised defence, and found himself in rather close proximity to Haiji’s chest. 

The other man was quite a bit shorter than Haiji, so he had to look up to meet his eyes. For a second, Haiji had to remember what air was. This man had the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. And, they were full of repentance. The shorter man opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead brought his fist to his chest. He rubbed it in a circle several times before ducking around Haiji and scurrying to where the rest of the students were waiting for their orders. Several of them smiled as he approached, so it was obvious the brunette was here with others.

Still a little weirded out by what happened, Haiji just grabbed his sandwich off the counter and hurried from the shop, not even pausing his stride to place his earbuds back into his ears. He hurried home to eat and study before going to bed, totally forgetting about the strange encounter.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! If you made it here, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I promise you I have so many good things planned for this story and I am so excited to show you where these two characters are going. Please stay tuned, and I'd love to hear any feedback or opinions all y'all have. Anyway, love ya and stay safe!


End file.
